There’s only one word to sum up how I felt about Lancome’s new matte lipsticks: SURPRISED BEYOND BELIEF.

Pleasantly, fabulously surprised! Matte lipsticks have a reputation for being chalky, drying, and difficult to work with. Lancome has reinvented the feel and touch and play of a matte lipstick and modernized it in a way that works. I would describe the finish of these new lipsticks as more of a semi-matte or demi-matte. In natural light, they look like a more traditional matte lipstick, but in the sunlight, they have a subtle sheen.

However, regardless of how they look, they feel nothing like matte lipsticks. Nothing. At. All. (That’s where the pleasantly surprised bit comes in!) Like it was love at first swipe. My mouth formed an “O” as soon as I applied Bronze Show. I was like, “What? No way.”

These matte lipsticks are soft, creamy, and glide on smoothly. There’s no pulling or draggint to get even, opaque coverage. Every single shade in the matte lipstick line-up is consistent in its finish, feel, texture, and pigmentation. These are lightly moisturizing and have a bit of slip, which is so out-of-the-realm of matte lipsticks in my world. Lancome attributes this to “soft waxes and emollients” for “modern glide and slip” as well as a “light-diffusing gel” as a mattifying agent (as opposed to a dull powder).

Though there is some slip, I wouldn’t describe these as slippery. They’re creamy without being all over the place. The color clings to lips well so wear-time is improved (I found myself getting around five hours with these) and fades in a way that doesn’t leave a ring of color on the outskirts of your lips.

Bronze Show is an opaque, orange-toned brown.

Corset is a richly pigmented, creamy coral-pink.

Lucky Kiss is a smooth, softened plummed-down pink.

Pink Preview is a creamy, blue-based light pink.

To nitpick, I don’t love the packaging of the Color Design Lipsticks. They’re a glimmering, almost metal-looking plastic, but you can only stand them label-side down. Even though the tops of most Color Design lipsticks has a colored top (to “match” the shade itself), I prefer names (because I remember those more!). The Matte lipsticks have a clear top, though, which makes it a little more annoying when you’re trying to find the shade you want. But that’s really the only part that I didn’t like about these. The price is right, and I’m glad these aren’t Absolu Rouges (they’d be $30 then!).

Kudos, Lancome! This is probably one of the best Lancome products I’ve tried–to date–and an incredibly well-done take on the matte lipstick.

If you want to know more about how products are evaluated, read out Rating System FAQ!

Product: 29/30

Value: 8/10

Ease of Use: 4/5

Packaging: 4/5

Recommendation: If you’ve wanted to get down with matte lipsticks, but you couldn’t get down with the drying texture, give Lancome’s latest take on the matte lipstick a try.